Roxie Roker

At 66 years old, Roxie Roker has this physical status:

Roxie Albertha Roker (August 28, 1929-December 2, 1995) was an American actress who played Helen Willis on CBS' The Jeffersons (1975-1995), the first interracial couple to be seen on prime time television.

She is the mother of rock musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Zo Kravitz.

Early life

Roker was born in Miami, Florida. Bessie Roker (née Mitchell) was born in Georgia and worked as a domestic. Albert Roker, her father, was a porter and a resident of Andros, The Bahamas. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York.

Personal life

Roker graduated from Howard University. In 1962, she married television actress Sy Kravitz. Helen Willis, Roker's character, had an interracial marriage to a white man. The couple's son, singer-songwriter, and actor Lenny Kravitz (born May 26, 1964), married in 1985. Once deleted, weather anchor Al Roker and Roxie Roker were second cousins.

Source

Career

She began her professional career with the Negro Ensemble Company and became a well-known stage actress. In 1974, she received an Obie Award and was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Mattie Williams in The River Niger. She appeared on WNEW-TV in New York in the 1970s and hosted a public affairs show for the station titled Inside Bed-Stuy, which dealt with events in the Brooklyn neighborhood. Helen Willis appeared on The Jeffersons, breaking social boundaries by becoming one half of the first Caucasian-American married couple (along with actor Franklin Cover) as a regular cast member on prime-time television. She appeared in guest starring roles on many other television shows from the 1970s to the 1990s, including "Stone in the River" starring Hal Miller, The Love Boat, Delay in the Middle, and ABC Afterschool Specials. She appeared in the television miniseries Roots and in the film Claudine. Roker was also a children's advocate who was cited by Los Angeles's city for her charitable efforts.

Source